Facebook's launched new gender options in the UK

Only male and female options were available on the gender tab in profiles, before the change. But now, Facebook users in the UK can now choose from one of 70 gender options, including 'asexual', 'two-spirit', 'intersex' and 'cisgender.'

Facebook has also updated its settings so users can choose a neutral pronoun, meaning they are referred to as 'they, their or them'.

The changes are aimed at giving people more choices in how they describe themselves, such as androgynous, bi-gender, intersex, gender fluid or transsexual. 

Brielle Harrison, Facebook software engineer said, 'there's going to be a lot of people for whom this is going to mean nothing, but for the few it does impact, it means the world.'

'All too often transgender people like I and other gender nonconforming people are given this binary option, do you want to be male or female? What is your gender?' said Harrison.

'And it's kind of disheartening because none of those let us tell others who we really are,' she said.

'This really changes that and for the first time I get to go to the site and specify to all the people I know what my gender is.'

FACEBOOK’S NEW GENDER OPTIONS
Agender (people who lack a gender) Androgyne/Androgynous (a 'non-binary' gender. They may possess traits that are simultaneously feminine and masculine, or neither) Asexual (without sexual feelings or associations) Bigender (a person who feels their gender is fully male and fully female, or any pair of genders, generally switching between the two) Cis (cisgender and cissexual are a closely related class of gender identities where an individual's gender matches the behaviour or role considered appropriate for one's sex) Cis Female Cis Male Cis Man Cis Woman Cisgender Cisgender Female Cisgender Male Cisgender Man Cisgender Woman Female to Male FTM (FTM is 'female-to-male' transsexual) Gender Fluid (moving between genders)	Gender Nonconforming (or 'gender variant' is behaviour or gender expression that does not conform to dominant gender norms) Gender Questioning Gender Variant Genderqueer (a term for gender identities other than man and woman) Hermaphrodite (a person how has reproductive organs typically associated with both male and female sexes) Intersex (a person born with sexual anatomy, reproductive organs, and/or chromosome patterns that do not fit the typical definition of male or female) Male to Female/MTF ('male-to-female') Neither Neutrois (taken to mean 'non-gendered class.' It refers to a gender identity which is also called null-gendered on occasion) Non-binary (gender identities that don't fit within the accepted binary of male and female.) Other Pangender (similar to Androgyne) Trans (transgender people are those born into a body not associated with their gender	Trans Female/Male/Man/ Person  Trans*Female (the asterisk creates an umbrella term that specially encompasses every single gender identity) Trans*Male Trans*Man Trans*Person Trans*Woman Transexual (a subset of transgender, and refers generally to people who identify as a sex other than that they were assigned at birth) Transexual Female Transexual Male Transexual Man Transexual Person Transexual Woman Transgender Female Transgender Person Transmasculine (describes those assigned female at birth, but identify as more male) Two-spirit (describes Indigenous North Americans who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles found traditionally among many Native Americans and Canadian First Nations indigenous groups) Definitions from gendercentre.org.au

Simon Milner, Policy Director, UK Middle East and Africa at Facebook, added: 'When you come to Facebook to connect with the people, causes, and organisations you care about, we want you to feel comfortable being your true self.  

'An important part of this is the expression of gender especially when it extends beyond the definitions of just "male" or "female". Today’s announcement provides significantly more options for people in the UK.'

The Human Rights Campaign last year found that 10 percent of the 10,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender youths it surveyed used 'other' or wrote in their own gender terms.

The change to the gender selection option is seen as a major step toward acceptance for people who don't self-identify as male or female, but the high-profile development seemed senseless to those who believe in two genders, no more.

Masen Davis, executive director of the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, said it may be hard for some people to understand the importance of having the ability to select from multiple genders online. But he said many transgender people will be thrilled with the change.

'We applaud Facebook for making it possible for people to be their authentic selves online,' he said.

In the past decade, the transgender movement has become much more organised and outspoken, demanding the kind of civil rights and respect already sought by gay activists. 

Google+ offers male, female and 'other' as choices, but transgender advocates said Facebook's many specific options puts the platform well ahead of any other online community. About 1 per cent of Google+ users identify as 'other'. 

The idea of expanding gender choices percolated at Facebook for about a year and started to come to completion during an in-house brainstorming four months ago, project manager Lexi Ross said.

Facebook said advertisers cannot target ads to those who declare themselves transgender or recently changed their gender.

Users also can select 'neither' or 'other' and separately indicate whether they want to be referred to as he, she or they.

Facebook, which has 1.23 billion active monthly user around the world, also allows them keep their gender identity private. so don't worry, your gender is safe.